Roughnecks Complete Technical Staff

The Tulsa Roughnecks FC technical staff is now set for the 2018 season, and it includes several familiar faces. Head Coach David Vaudreuil has added assistant coach Lloyd Kinnear, goalkeeper coach Donovan Ricketts and assistant coach Michael Nsien. In addition, Koby Smith returns as athletic trainer, and Jeff Pace returns as strength and conditioning coach.

Kinnear is back for his second season assisting Vaudreuil. He came to Tulsa prior to last season when Vaudreuil was named head coach.

Kinnear played professional soccer in his native South Africa, both as an indoor and outdoor player.

Since entering the coaching ranks, he has worked as an assistant coach for Eric Wynalda with the LA Blues. He has also served as a head coach for the Orange County Spartans of the NPSL and for both the LA Azul and Hollywood Hitmen of the PDL.

Kinnear’s career also includes stints as the boys head soccer coach at Malibu High School in California, winning back-to-back league titles and coach of the year honors.

He holds a USSF A Coaching License.

Ricketts is in his second year as TRFC’s goalkeeper coach. In 2017, he served in that capacity while also being listed as a player, but he did not appear in a game.

This season, the two-time MLS Goalkeeper of the Year will only serve as the club’s goalkeeper coach. The former Jamaican International brings a wealth of experience to the job, having made nearly 200 appearances in Major League Soccer for the Los Angeles Galaxy, Portland Timbers, Montreal Impact and Orlando City.

Early in his career, Ricketts made over 100 appearances in goal for English League One and Two side Bradford City.

He also made 100 appearances for the Jamaica National Team and was a member of that country’s 1998 World Cup squad. A Tulsa native, Nsien has deep connections in the Tulsa soccer community. As a youth, he was a standout player for several local club teams and for the Booker T. Washington High School team. After graduating from BTW, Nsien played four years of college soccer at the University of Dayton. While there, he was selected as an all-conference and all-Ohio player.

His performance gave him the opportunity to join the Nigeria Olympic Team during qualifications for the 2004 Olympics. He also saw time at the professional level in stints with the Los Angeles Galaxy and the Portland Timbers.

Currently, Nsien is the Director of Coaching for the Tulsa Soccer Club and is the founder and director of the Tulsa Soccer Academy, which is a full-time school for elite players.

Over the last ten years, he has worked with many top players in the Tulsa area and in the nation as a Region 3 and USClub ID staff member. He also holds a USSF A Coaching License, a UEFA B License and will complete his UEFA A License later this year.

Smith is the only athletic trainer the Roughnecks have had since joining the USL in 2015. This season, he has joined Tulsa Bone & Joint Associates who has become the Roughnecks Official Orthopedic Care Provider for the 2018 season.

Pace is in his second season as the club’s strength and conditioning coach. He is the owner and operator of the Ultimate Performance Complex in Tulsa and has joined the staff of the new Titan Sports and Performance Center in Jenks.